Race into history : NASCAR's Tiger Woods?

Following trailblazers Wendell Scott and Willy T. Ribbs, Bill Lester is the latest black man to break into the highest level of the formerly 'redneck' world of stock car racing.

Compiled from AP, Cox wire, staff reports

Joy and pain: Bill Lester made history by becoming the most recent black driver to qualify and race on NASCAR’s top circuit, the Nextel Cup Series, run at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

HAMPTON, GA- Bill Lester would like to be known as just another race car driver. However, with the National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) making efforts to African-Americans, Hispanics and to the country of Mexico to grow racing audiences and diversify its drivers and racing teams, that may take a while. "I'm looking forward to when it's about racing instead of race,'' Lester said Monday after becoming the first black driver to race in NASCAR's top stock car series in 20 years.

It was a historic day for the sport but a mixture of pride and embarrassment for the 45-year-old Lester, who finished 38th, six laps behind 25-year-old winner Kasey Kahne in the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Lester had scored a notable victory for NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program just by qualifying on Friday for the Monday race. Driving a Dodge Charger fielded by Bill Davis Racing, Lester started as the 19th fastest car, outqualified reigning Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart (21st), fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. (26th) and veteran Terry Labonte (43rd).

Crush of attention

Lester says he has been inundated with emails. His voice mail is full. "I don't really deserve all the attention I've gotten,'' Lester said. "People that I don't know have been following me. It's just been so humbling and heartwarming knowing that people are interested in what I'm doing and have been supportive of my career. "It's overwhelming," said Lester, who was greeted by a thunderous ovation during a Friday post-qualifying news conference. "This essentially is the culmination of a very long dream that I've had to race at the top level in professional motor sports."

Despite Monday's lackluster finish, he was thrilled by the experience of racing against the Cup drivers in the Golden Corral 500, postponed from Sunday because of rain. "It was a very significant learning experience for me,'' said Lester, the first black driver to race in the Cup series since Willy T. Ribbs. "It was fun to be out there with them. This is just the beginning and we have two more (Nextel Cup) races to go. I got a late start in my career and I'm trying to catch up as quick as I can.''

Lester said he tried hard to earn some respect from the other Cup drivers Monday. "I was able to bring it home in one piece and able to build up my database of knowledge,'' he said. "There were some opportunities for me to take some chances and I could have gotten in the way. But I'm not trying to do that.'' Lester, who also plans to drive Cup races at Michigan International Speedway in June and California Speedway in September, said, "I'm eager. I can't hardly wait until June.'' Asked whom he was representing on the racetrack, the smile Lester had been wearing since the end of the race disappeared. "I represented myself,'' he said. "I'm doing this for myself and for my family. "I'm glad so many people, especially from the minority community, have taken note of what it is I'm doing, but I drive for Bill Lester. At the end of the day, if it wasn't for my self belief, I wouldn't be here.''

Childhood dream without 'silver spoon'

From the time he attended his first race at age 8, Bill Lester has had a dream that one day he would compete beside the elite drivers in motor sports. It was a long shot at best. Thousands of kids have the desire to race, but only 43 drivers compete in a Nextel Cup race. And it's even more rare for an African-American driver to make it. Only one, the late Wendell Scott, has ever run in NASCAR's top series on a regular basis.

Before he made recent history for qualifying for the Atlanta race, Lester spoke about his feelings. "It's overwhelming and unbelievable that this day has finally approached," Lester said. "It's the culmination of a long, hard, difficult road from which I've never strayed." It's not that there weren't detours. Lester said his initial trip to the track with his father set the hook for a racing career.

But first he earned an engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley and took a lucrative job with Hewlett-Packard. It was all part of the plan, he said. "I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I realized I was going to have to have a decent job to go buy a race car," he said. "That's what the engineering degree was about. Basically, with that first paycheck I went and bought a race car."

Running in amateur events on road courses in his native California, Lester assumed he'd soon be racing with the professionals. But the big breaks were slow in coming. "I spent 15 years doing an 8-5 job, being successful by everybody else's definition but my own," he said. "I wasn't happy doing what I was doing." Finally, in 1998, his wife, Cheryl, gave her approval for Lester to ditch his six-figure salary and follow his racing dream, which took him to NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, where he has raced since 2001. He has shown that he has no fear of speed, winning three poles and finishing fifth twice. Even at age 45, he looks and drives like someone much younger.

But racing in Nextel Cup is vastly different from the Truck Series. Just making the starting field for a Cup race is a daunting task. His car owner, Bill Davis, was cautiously optimistic. "He's got a very, very good shot, but the people involved with this need to manage their expectations. It's an enormous accomplishment for someone to get themselves into a Cup race today." When Lester made the field, expectations were high that it would be a watershed event in NASCAR's efforts to attract a more diverse audience. "I can only assume that it'll make a difference," Lester said. "If they see somebody that looks like them, and that they can identify with, it'll create a lot of excitement. I hope to think it'll make a change ... a difference."

Lester's parents, William and Rochelle, flew in from Oakland, CA, for the historic occasion. His wife Cheryl, pregnant with their second son, was also there. William said it's too soon to know where his son's accomplishment will rate from a historical perspective. "One never knows what people will find important over time," William said. "We'll have to see."

NASCAR drivers react Elliott Sadler said Lester's qualification was a monumental moment in NASCAR. "I think it's great," Sadler said. "It's a big stepping stone for the sport and NASCAR. No matter whatever type of sport you're in, I think it's great to do something that hasn't been done in 20 years. There was a lot of pressure on Bill, and those guys shined through." Ryan Newman started second after narrowly missing what would have been a track record seventh consecutive Atlanta Motor Speedway 'pole', or number one starting position. Newman said he would race Lester as hard as other competitors. "On one hand I understand the importance of it from an African-American standpoint," said Newman. "But on the other hand, we're all drivers and should be treated as drivers no matter the color of our skin. Bill Lester is another driver out there to me." Jeff Burton joined the overwhelming chorus of praise for Lester's accomplishment, and what it signals for NASCAR. "This sport is open to everyone, and that's how it ought to be," Burton said. "I look forward to the day when we're not talking about it and about what Bill Lester did. That's when we know that we're where we need to be. But we've got to be here first, and it's good that we're here."

NASCAR's latest Jackie Robinson, or first Tiger Woods?

Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark encouraged Lester to enter qualifying for this week's Nextel Cup race, not far from the driver's home in suburban Atlanta. Clark hasn't given up on the idea of Lester earning a regular spot on the Nextel Cup circuit. "He is the kind of guy that represents NASCAR well," Clark said. "This isn't about a one-time race. He's going to have a chance to do this six or more times this year and maybe lead into a full-time opportunity next year."

Anthony Martin, a friend of Ribbs, said it's not enough for a black driver to compete in Nextel Cup. Pointing to the Williams sisters in tennis and Tiger Woods in golf, he said the best way to break through racial stereotypes is to win races. "It can be a situation where he finishes 25th or 30th and there is no significance," said Martin, founder and director executive of Urban Youth Racing School in Philadelphia. Lester doesn't worry about the long odds he faces in becoming the Tiger Woods of his sport. "If I lived the way other people view me, then I wouldn't be where I am today," Lester said. "If I meet my goals and expectations, then I've easily exceeded everyone else."

One door closes, another opens It was initially tough for Lester and his wife, Cheryl, when he made the career change in 1987. For three years, they got by on smart investments, savings - and hope. Lester struggled through 14 years of searching for a sponsor. In 1999, he finally raced in his first NASCAR event, a Busch Series event in which he moved into the top 10 before a crash left him with a 21st-place finish. In 2002, Lester got his big break -- a regular ride in the truck series. He finished 17th in the standings his first season, and moved up to 14th the next year. In 2005, he won back-to-back poles at Kansas and Kentucky, and a pair of fifth-place finishes were the best of his career.

"I had to overcome all the disappointment, rejection and slammed doors, then picking myself back up," Lester said. "I realized that when every door closes, another one opens." Waste Management signed on as Lester's sponsor, giving him much-needed financial support and a better chance of producing his first win.

He hopes to race until he's at least 50. "Bill said once that he doesn't look like the typical NASCAR driver," said David Steiner, the company's CEO. "But in the future, there will be many who will look like Bill and many others with different colors and faces. It'll be just racers."

About Windell Scott

NASCAR pioneer Danville, VA native; started racing in 1947: only black driver in NASCAR for virtually all of his career

• In his first race, finished third in a borrowed car, won $50 and was hooked
• Career was a constant struggle with low budgets; often used his sons as members of his pit crew
• Won 128 hobby, amateur and modified races, on the old Dixie Circuit and outlaw tracks; 1959 was best season ever, winning 22 races
• Bought a used Chevrolet in 1961 and moved up to NASCAR's Grand National (now Nextel Cup) division; in 1963, driving another used car, finished 15th in the year-end points standings
• Beat Buck Baker on December 1, 1963 at Speedway Park, Jacksonville, to become the first black to win on NASCAR's highest level, a distinction he still holds
• In May 1964, and almost out of racing, bought a used car from Ned Jarrett for a dollar; finished 12th in total year-end points despite missing several races
• For five years, Scott consistently finished in the top ten in the point standings; 11th in 1965, a career-high 6th in 1966, 10th in 1967, and
  finished 9th in both 1968 and '69; top year in winnings was 1969 when he won $47,451
• Richard Pryor starred in the movie 'Greased Lightning,' largely based on Scott's battle for acceptance in NASCAR

Source: www.motorsportshalloffame.com; staff research

About Willie T. Ribbs

NASCAR pioneer

• Born William Theodore Ribbs, Jr. in 1956
• Grandfather founded successful plumbing business in 1927
• Started racing cars professionally after graduating from high school
• First African-American to qualify and compete in the Indianapolis 500
• Winner of the Formula Ford Dunlop Championship in Europe
• Recipient of two "Driver of the Year" titles while driving for such racing icons as Dan Gurney, Jack Roush and Derek Walker
• First African American to compete in NASCAR's Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup)series; dropped out due to lack of sponsorships
• First African American to compete in CART/Indy Car Championship in partnership with Bill Cosby; even with Cosby’s help, sponsors would not back a black driver
• First and only African American to test for Formula 1 Grand Prix team in Estroil, Portugal
• Joined NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2001 with the financial support of Dodge, which initiated a motor sports diversity program to provide opportunities for minorities to race. This made Ribbs the first African American in the modern era to compete full time in a major NASCAR division
• Now a world-class professional skeet shooter
• Single father; two children

Source: www.thehistorymakers.com; www.willytribbs.com